Looking for suggestions on finding first Patent Prosecution job.

I've recently passed the Patent Registration exam and am looking for a patent prosecution job.

I've worked as a software engineer for 10 years, have a civil engineering degree and Computer Science degree (with 3.6 gpa), and attended law school (2nd tier)in the evening while working as an engineer. As a result (working and personal issues) my law school gpa is less than stellar.

After law school I stopped working, tooks 7 months for the bar exam (took it twice), then took some personal time off, and spent time studying for the patent registration exam.

A couple of prospective employers have already told me that the two year work gap in my resume makes me unhirable.

Most of my time off from work were spent studying and I had to take some time off for very personal reason which I think would be inappropriate to share with a prospective employer.

I've thought about my choices. 1) I'm pretty sure I can get my old software job back, but that would be step backwards and it might destroy my morale and self-confidence. 2) I can start my own firm 3) Find contract work in the legal field 4) find a software job

I will happily take a pay cut, work long hours, or move if I could find a job doing patent prosecution. I think that I need to remedy the time gap in my resume before I send more out.

If anyone has any suggestions I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks.